Book Review: Touched by Cyn Balog

eBook
Release date: August 14, 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Author: Cyn Balog
A big thanks to Net Galley and Delacorte for providing this eARC for review!

Nick Cross always listens to the voice in his head. Because if he doesn't? Things can go really, really wrong. Like the day he decided to go off script and saved a girl from being run over . . . and let another one drown. Trying to change the future doesn't work. But this summer at the Jersey Shore, something's about to happen that Nick never could have predicted. He meets a girl named Taryn and finds out about the Book of Touch. Now the path that he thought he was on begins to shift . . . and there's no way to stop things from happening. Or is there?  In a life where there are no surprises, nothing has prepared Nick for what he's about to discover--or the choice he will be forced to make. . . .

So that's a pretty cool blurb up there, right? Well let me tell you, it does NOT do this book justice!
I couldn't put it down!

Touched is about this guy named Nick who can see his future. ALL of his futures. Every decision he makes changes what will happen in his life, but he remembers futures that COULD have happened too.
His marriages, his deaths, his children, it's all there in his head.
Crazy, right?!

What a fascinating concept! I LOVED it!

Enter Taryn, who changes Nick's future yet again....but this time it's NOT a future Nick wants.
The two must do everything they can to change what will happen.
It's quite a roller coaster ride for the reader, let me tell you!

I love the characters. Your heart goes out to Nick when you realize what the poor guy has to go through everyday.
And I adore Nan.

But the best part? The ending! Oh em gee, that ending! I can't say a word about it, but it's twisty and shocking and it'll leave you teary.

There's no excessive sex or language or anything too mature in Touched, so I'd be comfortable recommending it to kids 12+, and it's written from a boy's perspective, so it's perfect for boys, too!

Book Review: The Dead I Know by Scot Gardner

Paperback
216 pages
Release date: August 7, 2012
Publisher: Razorbill Canada (Penguin)

You wake in the middle of the night, your arms and feet pinned by strong hands. As you thrash your way to consciousness, a calm voice says, “Steady. We’re here to help.” Your mind registers a paramedic, a policeman, an ambulance. You are lying on the lookout at Keeper’s Point, the lookout Amanda Creen supposedly threw herself off. And you have absolutely no idea how you got there. Aaron Rowe walks in his sleep. He has dreams he can’t explain and memories he can’t recover. Death doesn’t scare him—his new job with a funeral director may even be his salvation. But if he doesn’t discover the truth about his hidden past soon, he may fall asleep one night and never wake up. A potent, intense psychodrama that will keep you gripped to the very last page.

It's so tough to write a review when you're not sure exactly HOW you felt about the book you're reviewing!

The Dead I Know is a simply written book, about a very difficult subject. When researching this book I discovered it was written for teens ages 14-18.
No way would I recommend, or even allow my OWN children to read this book at 14! I think 16, even 17 is the youngest.
There are many very graphic scenes and the content just isn't acceptable for younger teens.

Now, that THAT'S out of the way, lets get to it, shall we?

Aaron is an interesting character, and one that was--for me at least--difficult to relate to.
But I DID care about him, and that's what kept me turning the pages.

Aaron goes through hell during this book, and that's really tough to watch when you're as empathetic and sensitive as I am.

The behind the scenes at the funeral home is fascinating, if slightly gory and macabre, and Aaron's boss and his family are wonderfully written.

I'm going to recommend this book to teen--boys especially--ages 16 and up...But ONLY if a parent reads it first.
I truly believe that this is a book that needs to be discussed after it's read.